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What have you done to your XS today?
- Thread starter I am Carbon
- Start date
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- Tags
- maintenance
But then they wouldn’t be as cool
It bothers me more than it should to see the black plates on new cars.But then they wouldn’t be as cool
I like to start my XS with a turn and a half in on the idle stop screw, let it warm up and then turn it down some before leaving and then turn it down at the first light. Made a Grippy idle knob.
If you want something like this see the post linked below
Mine is different and I already had the inserts and grub screws from work.
https://www.xs650.com/threads/what-have-you-done-to-your-xs-today.32082/page-777#post-902847
If you want something like this see the post linked below
Mine is different and I already had the inserts and grub screws from work.
https://www.xs650.com/threads/what-have-you-done-to-your-xs-today.32082/page-777#post-902847
Was handed a BS38 with a snapped off butterfly screw.
Got all fancy and made a drilling guide.
Tried it but ended up free hand drilling the hole anyways.
Tight margins, gotta do a little steering/angling with the bit as you start and go deeper to get and keep the bit centered,
Used a 3/32" and that bit has got to be DEAD center, very little room. cleaned up with a M3 x 0.5 tap and done.
Got all fancy and made a drilling guide.
Tried it but ended up free hand drilling the hole anyways.
Tight margins, gotta do a little steering/angling with the bit as you start and go deeper to get and keep the bit centered,
Used a 3/32" and that bit has got to be DEAD center, very little room. cleaned up with a M3 x 0.5 tap and done.
Attachments
Carb season is in. I just redid these with new throttle shaft seals and hardware the other weekend too.
Chet Ironhorse
XS650 Enthusiast
Brembo update on the '78 Build. Thanks to Pandemonium for the bracket kit! Disassembled, cleaned and blasted the caliper then applied a fresh coat of VHT caliper paint to the caliper, bracket and rotor.
I tend to get a bit grumpy about the look of caliper adapter plates but your unifying caliper, adapter, fork leg, rotor, paint with the bright bolt bits makes it look all of a piece. Good work!
Enquiring minds; how's the caliper to spoke clearance?
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Tweaked the oil conversin kit I installed a couple months back that has been leaking on my garage floor. (https://www.xs650.com/threads/yambi...t-for-technical-specs-for-installation.69636/)
Fixed a fuse, bringing it a little closer to OEM. Previous owner must have broke a clip for the glass fuse and crimped in a blade style. Worked, but not vintage.
Soldered in new clips. Wire is a bit "generous", but at least now I just carry one type of fuse.
Fixed a fuse, bringing it a little closer to OEM. Previous owner must have broke a clip for the glass fuse and crimped in a blade style. Worked, but not vintage.
Soldered in new clips. Wire is a bit "generous", but at least now I just carry one type of fuse.
I also like the vintage look. However, it looks like you still have some of the very old fuse clips; they are likely to eventually break, as well. That is why most of us convert the whole box to a modern one to avoid being stranded.
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I have the same Pandemonium kit. The spoke clearance is relatively tight, you actually have to chamfer the inside "corners" of the caliper itself for clearance. This is in addition to other relief areas on the caliper i.e. pad guides (to accommodate the relatively thick stock rotor) and mounting ears, plus a small corner cut on one brake pad.
That said, it fits well after that and the installation instructions are clear and straightforward. The only upgrade I could wish for is SS...the adapter plate and rotor spacer are MS.
Edit 2/16/2026: One other thing I neglected to mention is that the tapped holes and hardware are UNF, probably bc Pandemonium is an American chopper shop; I would have preferred metric in this case.
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Chet Ironhorse
XS650 Enthusiast
As Wanger73 mentioned I did clearance the back of the caliper. I also radiused the inside of the bracket rather than the straight edge. I also swapped it to the left side of the bike so it was less prominent when the bike is on the side stand. My Dad always talked about wanting dual discs back in the day because of the poor braking performance. I figured this mod would be a welcome surprise.
I noticed this and wondered if he was making the bracket that way now. Nonetheless, I really like what you did, looks better than mine!
Just curious, what disc is that? Looks good.
Metal Gear out of Australia, had it drilled here in U.S. at Trudisk (MI)
Nice! Yeah, Tom has resurfaced and/or drilled a number of discs for me...he does a great job.
